U.S. President George W. Bush became the second U.S. Chief Executive to make a public appearance at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on January 6, 2006. His father, President George H.W. Bush, was the first, when he visited the Exchange on December 10, 1991. The CBOT was the first scheduled stop on Bush’s agenda during his trip to Chicago.
President Bush received a firsthand view of free markets in action during a tour of the agricultural trading floor. Prior to the floor tour, President Bush was welcomed to the Exchange by CBOT Chairman Charles Carey, CBOT President Bernard Dan and the CBOT Board of Directors.
CBOT President Bernard Dan said, “It is a great honor for all the members, staff and others associated with the Chicago Board of Trade to have U.S. President George W. Bush make time in his tight schedule to come to the CBOT and view capitalism at work on the floor of this great Exchange. His visit sends a strong message around the world that this country believes in free markets and the importance of the futures industry which provides price discovery and risk transfer for commodities and financial instruments around the world."
Following his visit to the CBOT, President Bush spoke on the state of the U.S. economy during a reception at the Economic Club of Chicago. In his opening remarks, President Bush said, “I just visited the Chicago Board of Trade. I want to thank Chairman Charlie Carey and the members of the CBOT. A guy in the corn pit was yelling “hook’em horns”. So I hooked them. And now I guess I own a lot of corn.”
